Much has been reported in the press not long ago concerning the bingo industry singing the blues as a consequence of the anti cigarette law in England. Conditions have grown so bad that in Scotland the Bingo industry has called for huge aid to assist in keeping the industry from going bankrupt. However does the web adaptation of this traditional game provide a salvation, or will it never compare to its real life relative?

Bingo has been an established game normally played by the "blue rinse" generation. For all that the game recently had seen a recent resurgence in appeal with younger men and women deciding to go to the bingo parlors rather than the discos on a weekend. All this is about to be destroyed with the enacting of the cigarette ban throughout England and Wales.

Players will no longer be able to puff on cigarettes while dabbing numbers. From the summer of 2007 every public location will not be allowed to permit smoking in their venues and this includes Bingo parlors, one of the most favorite locations where many people like to puff on cigarettes.

The effects of the smoking ban can already be felt in Scotland where cigarettes are already not permitted in the bingo halls. Numbers have plunged and the industry is absolutely fighting for to stay alive. But where did the players go? Obviously they haven’t abandoned this familiar game?

The answer is on the internet. People realise that they can gamble on bingo in front of their computer at the same time enjoying a drink and fag and still have a chance at huge cash rewards. This is a recent development and has timed itself almost perfectly with the anti cigarette law.

Of course gambling on on the internet will never replace the collective aspect of going over to the bingo hall, but for a group of men and women the rules have left a lot of bingo players with no option.